Our oceans, rivers and lakes provide an abundance of seafood and fresh fish, as well as employment for millions worldwide.

Yet, there is a global fishing crisis that is masked by sparkling blue waters and well-stocked fish markets. According to the World Resource Institute's comprehensive 2004 report "Fishing for Answers, Making Sense of the Global Fish Crisis," 75 percent of the commercially important marine fish stocks, and most inland water fish stocks, are either overfished or being fished to their biological limit.

Demand for seafood products doubled from the 1970s to the turn of this century and demand continues to grow. This situation could turn from bad to a collapse of the fish stocks and the oceans' ecological health.

Fish are a renewable resource, but this requires international cooperation, scientific research, enforcement of sustainable fishing practices, protected marine reserves and consumer contentiousness.

Carmen Revenga, the lead sustainable fisheries strategist at The Nature Conservancy and one of the authors of "Fishing for Answers" says, "(A) 'silver bullet' for fisheries management is not possible, but a combination of approaches has proven to work. We know what these approaches are, we just need to implement them."

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has developed a Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries that more than 150 nations have embraced, but the code needs to be followed and enforced.

The large commercial fishing vessels use methods that look nothing like the traditional methods we might imagine. These aggressive methods of fishing are often detrimental to ocean ecosystems. Bottom trawls and dredges, as large as football fields, drag along the bottom devastating ocean floor habitats. Longlines can be 50 miles in length and can hold 12,000 hooks. These non-discriminating methods of fishing can result in high levels of bycatch, the unintended capture of non-targeted fish, most of which is discarded back into the water with the animals dead or dying. In 2004, the FAO estimated the total of these marine discards to be at least 10 million metric tons of animals annually, but researchers believe this figure underestimates the marine mammals (seals, dolphins, etc.), turtles and sea birds that are also caught. There has been an improvement since 2004, but still an inconceivably high waste of sea life occurs.

The impact of overfishing is not seen by the consumer, because the new fishing vessels can reach remote locations and deeper waters that were not previously exploited. New fish tracking sonar leaves no room for the fish to hide. If fish are depleted in one area, new areas to fish are found. Fisheries experts warn that the expansion of the new fishing areas is reaching an end.

Aquaculture, or fish farming, could fill the gap. "Aquaculture already supplies a large portion of the seafood demand, and this sector is the fastest growing food production sector in the world....It is filling the gap already felt from declining wild catches, but it is also creating problems," cautions Revenga. These problems include water pollution with toxic chemicals and antibiotics, millions of acres of habitat destruction, introduction of non-native species that threaten the native populations and the capture of juvenile fish from the wild to raise in contained pens.

Page 2 of 2 - The FAO has developed a set of responsible guidelines for aquaculture. A small sector of the seafood industry has taken positive steps toward sustainable aquaculture.

Revenga suggests that sometimes supporting policies that may be unpopular in the short term will be beneficial to all in the long term, such as catch shares/limits, no-take zones and fishing gear modifications. She notes that supporting local fisherman and fishing communities is also important. International cooperation is also essential, since more than 80 percent of U.S. seafood is imported and the FDA inspects a small fraction of it.

Consumers' choices are important. Revenga says, "Consumers need to ask questions and be informed. They can ask their stores and restaurants, not only where the fish is from, but how it was caught....The closer to home the better and the less impact the fishing method the better."

Environmentally responsible methods of fishing include: hook and line, trolling, traps and pots, and harpooning larger fish. Products that carry the Marine Stewardship Council label ensure that the fish were caught sustainably (www.msc.org). Responsibly caught seafood tends to be more expensive, but the price will be much higher if we do not take steps now to support conscientious fishing practices.

Consider vegetarian options instead of seafood if sustainable seafood options are not available. The health push to eat coldwater fish for the omega-3 fatty acids also can come with the toxins we put in the oceans, such as mercury and PCBs. An alternative is to include flax seeds, beans and walnuts in your diet to obtain the benefits of omega-3s.